


Anything Could Happen

by Elle Blessingway (elle_blessing)



Category: Naruto
Genre: Community: kakasaku, Drabble Collection, F/M, Gen, Last Drabble Writer Standing, Time Travel, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-01
Updated: 2014-01-31
Packaged: 2018-01-07 09:55:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 14,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1118508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elle_blessing/pseuds/Elle%20Blessingway
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>30 drabbles written in 30 days. Most drabbles take place in a time travel universe where Kakashi is an irritable young teen who thinks eight-year-old Sakura is an annoying pink terrorist. Minato is benevolent and wise. Itachi, Sai, Naruto and Ino also make appearances. Besides the Time Travel Shenanigans, there's also Making Out for The Cause and Ripple Effect tropery. (Tropes!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. i took a sip (from the devil's cup)

**Author's Note:**

> These drabbles are my entries for the [2014 Last Fan Standing](http://kakasaku.dreamwidth.org/tag/contest:+last+fan+standing+2014) fest at the kakasaku community on Dreamwidth. The challenge is to write a drabble in response to a daily prompt for 30 days. Each drabble/chapter will be between 100-500 words, and they all will feature Kakashi and/or Sakura in some way. Currently most of the drabbles are in the Time Travel Shenanigans (TTS) universe, but there's some others thrown in the mix (romance, friendship, unresolved sexual tension... rawr). Ino, Minato, Inoichi, Sai, Naruto and Itachi have made appearances thus far. I'll be posting one a day (hopefully!) for the month of January. Hope you enjoy!
> 
>  **Warnings:** There will be some swear words and probably some sexual situations here and there.
> 
> _**1/25/2014 Edit:** Since most of the drabbles have ended up being in the Time Travel Shenanigans 'verse, I've added a note to each TTS chapter title for y'alls navigating convenience -- see the [Chapter Index](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1118508/navigate). Those drabbles that don't have a TTS designation in the chapter title (or series note) are just stand alone drabbles._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** Nostalgia  
>  **Title:** i took a sip (from the devil's cup)  
>  **Series:** N/A

_This was not going as Kakashi planned. They should be rendezvousing with Sasuke and Naruto five kilometers east of the Kishi Estate. Instead he had Sakura pinned in the tiniest of alcoves._

_He could feel every curve of her body, the warm puffs of her breath against his mask. He couldn't see the green of her eyes in the shadows, but there was enough light to see exactly what she was thinking. Anticipation, fear, and excitement. Something had alerted the estate security and they were checking everything thoroughly. It was imperative they keep a low profile. No fancy jutsu, or super strength. Konoha ninja could not be discovered here._

_But when he'd pressed even tighter against her, he'd also seen awareness in her eyes. He'd felt her breathing quicken. Could smell the change in her scent, a spicy musk that made it terribly difficult to focus._

_"Have you checked over there?" The voice was closer than any of the others._

_"Not yet." Footsteps were heading directly toward them._

_They were going to be discovered._

_Kakashi did the only thing he could think in that particular moment. He jerked his mask down and captured her lips. Sakura stiffened in surprise, but she could hear the steps nearing too and he felt her relax. Good girl._

_… but then her hands were sliding into his hair and her body was straining against his as she tip-toed up to respond, lips, nips, her tongue sweeping across his bottom lip._

_If his hands found her waist, hips, gripped her ass to jerk her tighter against him… well, it was to sell it._

_He heard snickering and then the footsteps were moving away. "Just a couple of kids making out."_

_And then Sakura's nails raked down his neck and he growled and bit her lip. Her breathy gasp blanked his mind… and then he jerked away from her. His mask was up before she had truly refocused on him. "The way's clear now."_

_She scowled at him, but followed silently behind._

_..._

He avoided her religiously after that.

...

"You can't hide from me forever, you know." Her voice was just above and behind him.

Damn. She'd found him.

"I've done pretty well up to now." He jumped from his recline in the tree to the ground below, felt her follow right behind him.

"Kakashi." Her voice was firm, unbending.

He sighed, but didn't turn to look at her. It would be best if he didn't. "You were my student. I watched you grow up." The good old days.

"You were my sensei for less than a year, and it was a long, long time ago," she pointed out reasonably. "You've been my friend and teammate for most of my life."

And then she was in front of him and his eye went right to her mouth.

"And I really, really like it when you touch me." Her pale skin tinted pink high on her cheek bones.

Kakashi swallowed.  _Fuck._

So much for nostalgia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Some of my favorite things: extra sensitive senses!Kakashi and Making Out For The Cause ;D_


	2. Help, I'm Alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** Sand  
>  **Title:** Help, I'm Alive  
>  **Series:** N/A

It was the roll of waves that slowly teased her toward wakefulness.

She could smell saltiness, brine, could feel the heat of the sun. A light breeze on her skin. Lashes fluttered and green eyes squinted. Sakura leaned up on her elbows. She was on a bright yellow beach towel in a red bikini. She flexed her toes and warm sand sifted between them. A small luxury.

Huh. She must have fallen asleep.

"I like the way you think, Sak."

The voice startled her and Sakura frowned slightly. Where had Ino come from? "Huh?"

"The ocean. The beach." Ino grinned. "The bikinis."

Sakura noticed Ino's matching bikini then. And why were they on a beach anyway? She sat up and looked around. Sand and ocean for as far as the eye could see.

"Where are we, pig?"

"Figuratively, we're on a beach. Technically, we're in your head."

" _Technically?_ " Green eyes met blue.

"You got hurt, forehead. Really bad. You've been out for weeks." The blonde's voice trembled slightly. "The genjutsu really messed with your head, and you've been completely non-responsive. I couldn't find anything but blackness in here forever."

It was all coming back to Sakura. The mission. How quickly it escalated when they realized they weren't dealing with two B ranked missing-nin, but several S ranked nin. She remembered how Sai had been incapacitated, how Naruto had been run through, and Kakashi, with his Sharingan exposed, had been running dangerously low on chakra.

Green eyes flew to blue ones once more, urgency in their depths.

Ino spoke before Sakura could voice her question. "They're all fine." Her lips curled slightly. "Well. That's relative, I suppose. Naruto's been a mess. Shizune's sedated him twice. Sai hasn't figured out what facial expression he should use to express how worried and upset he is, and Kakashi won't leave your room. The hospital staff is sick of seeing the lot of them."

Her grin was silly and happy. Relieved.

She sobered moments later though. "Do you think I can wake up properly now?"

"What do you take me for? If I can dig through the dark and twisty layers of  _your_  mind, then I can certainly get you back to where you need to be."

Sakura could see through her bravado, and before the blonde could properly react, Sakura had closed the distance between them and was clinging tightly to her friend. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Any time," Ino whispered back, voice thick with emotion as she clung just as tightly.

...

The sound of a heart monitor was the first thing Sakura heard. She could smell antiseptic, feel the rough cotton of hospital sheets against her skin. Could feel how stiff and sore her body was.

"Ugh."

"Morning, sunshine."

Lashes fluttered, eyes opened. Ino. She wasn't in a bikini, and she looked tired. "I liked the beach better."

The blonde snorted. "You would."

Sakura squeezed the hand that held hers.  _I love you, pig._

The hand squeezed back.  _Back at'cha, forehead._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Ino is an amazeball friend. And also, there is much irony in the fact Kakashi now refuses to leave the hospital._


	3. Long Way From Home (Time Travel Shenanigans, Part I)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** Inchoate ( _not completely formed or developed yet_ )  
>  **Title:** Long Way From Home  
>  **Series:** Time Travel Shenanigans, Part I

All things considered, her circumstances could be a lot worse. She could have fallen out of the sky onto Orochimaru. The Fourth, Minato Namikaze, was much better.

Not that he was Hokage yet.

But he was kind and warm, and Sakura liked him very much. He was safe, too, she thought, as she pressed her cheek to his and held on more tightly around his neck. His hair tickled her nose and she crinkled it.

"He'll come around." She could feel his reassuring smile as his cheek curved slightly and her lips turned up in response.

Minato was the best and he made her little self very happy. That didn't mean she agreed with him though.

Sakura was eight years old. ( _She'd earned the newly scabbed wound on her palm when she was eight. It would someday be a lightning bolt shaped scar._ ) She was tiny. ( _It'd taken a significant growth spurt her twelfth year just to get to average._ ) Her chakra was only a barely-there buzz. ( _She'd passed out when she tried to heal her scrapes._ ) And she was pretty sure she wasn't all the way herself. Or she was, she supposed, because she was in her own body and her own mind. Except eight-year-old Sakura was here too, and she was stronger because this was  _her_  body.

Also, Kakashi wouldn't come around because he thought she was a spy. Sakura would already be dead if she hadn't detected the poison he'd slipped into her miso the first night.

"Kakashi, if you glare any harder you'll incinerate me too," Minato pointed out as they sped through the trees. Toward Konoha. Not that she was supposed to know that. ( _She hadn't even been born yet!?_ )

Sakura met the single eye visible as the silver haired ninja sped through the trees nearby. That eye narrowed at her.

She narrowed her eyes right back and stuck her tongue out at him. Pre-teen Kakashi was a big, fat bully.

His glare intensified ( _if that was possible_ ) and then he disappeared from view.

Minato was carrying her on his back, and when he chuckled she felt it rumble through him to her. She nuzzled his hair. Sakura liked making him happy, and she was sure he'd be the bestest cuddle plushie ever.

… _'bestest cuddle plushie ever'?_  She pulled away slightly and crinkled her nose. Sakura didn't know how long she'd be here, knowing all the things she did about being a medic, and a kunoichi, and the future, but being the same silly girl she'd once been wasn't acceptable. ( _And maybe she could make things better._ )

She set her chin on Minato's shoulder. She was too small, her chakra stores were undeveloped, and she was pretty sure Kakashi hated her.

Sigh.

But all things considered, it could be much worse. She nuzzled her nose in Minato's hair again. If she was stuck here, she was definitely keeping him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Time travel! It's one of my favorite tropes. Grumpy pre-teen Kakashi is fun to poke at :D I think Minato thinks so too. Or thinks that Kakashi needs to be needled now and again. And a pint-size Sakura is just the perfect one to do it._
> 
> _I like the dichotomy of a Sakura who is both older and knowledgeable, while at the same time very much a little girl due to being in her little girl body and thus having her little girl nature and limitations. I'm not sure I hit that balanced sweet spot between the two. What do y'all think?_


	4. baby's got a secret (Time Travel Shenanigans, Part II)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** Who are you?  
>  **Title:** baby's got a secret  
>  **Series:** Time Travel Shenanigans, Part II

"I'm not unaware you poisoned her food." Minato watched his student. Surprise tinted in his single grey eye, quickly followed by anger. "No, she did not tell me," he added before the flare of temper could stick.

Kakashi's brow puckered slightly — confusion — and he shifted his gaze to the girl.

Minato's eyes followed. The small fire gave little warmth and she was curled tightly against his side. The faint light allowed him to observe delicate features. Pink hair. Her breathing was steady, her chakra stable. She was fast asleep.

Blue eyes shifted back to his pupil. "It would have been unfortunate if you'd managed to kill her."

Minato watched the pre-teen lift his gaze from their unexpected companion to meet his own head-on, contemplative confusion now irritation, "She had one of your daggers, and she moves like a ninja. She knows high rank jutsu. She is a spy."

"And yet she does not have enough chakra to accomplish the more difficult Academy level techniques," he pointed out, voice calm and hushed. "That she was in possession of my dagger makes it all the more important she's alive. The dead cannot answer questions or reveal what might not have been known."

Kakashi's broke eye contact and dropped his gaze.

"There is more than is readily apparent," Minato continued. "You must always look underneath the underneath."

"Yes, sensei." Kakashi was both sheepish and mulish. A jounin he may be, but he was not yet grown.

Minato's lips twitched. "Unless she poses an immediate threat, do not harm her. I know it's a lot to ask, but I'm confident you can manage."

He glared and Minato refrained from chuckling.

Kakashi had come a long way ( _especially since they'd lost Obito_ ), but old habits were hard to shake. Little nudges were good for him ( _and Minato enjoyed the way he bristled like a temperamental cat_ ), but he did not want to genuinely hurt the boy ( _and it_ _would_ _hurt, despite how Kakashi feigned otherwise_ ).

All the same, Minato was the recipient of a heated one-eyed glare. He smiled inside this time.

"I'm going to go check the perimeter,  _sensei_." And with that, his student disappeared.

The perimeter did not need to be checked. The jutsus they'd set up would alert them to danger. Brat.

Minato allowed himself a small grin.

A soft noise of distress drew his eyes back to the girl. She was still asleep, but her dreams were not kind. Something haunted her; every night had been fitful.

Like the nights prior, when he pet her soft hair she settled.

The dagger he'd found on her was definitely his, which was curious enough, but what he'd not informed his student, was existence of unfamiliar seals carved into the hilt, and that the chakra used to make those seals was Kakashi's.

His gaze was intent when it landed on the girl's serene face again.  _Who are you?_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I'm really enjoying this little universe. There will undoubtedly be more Time Travel Shenanigans this month. Also, isn't Minato kinda awesome? He takes care of a moody teenage ninja that doesn't know he still needs caring for. Speaking of, I love Moody (Almost A) Teenager Kakashi XD_


	5. Breath of Life (Time Travel Shenanigans, Part III)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** Desuetude ( _a state of disuse_ )  
>  **Title:** Breath of Life  
>  **Series:** Time Travel Shenanigans, Part III

When they arrived at the gates of Konoha Sakura was wide eyed and breathless. It was  _beautiful_.

In her time, the massive doors and walls had fallen into disrepair — there just wasn't enough manpower or money for the needed maintenance. Most able-bodied nin hadn't even  _seen_  the village in years as they moved around where needed to fight a war most had long forgotten the reasons for starting, and most money went to supporting those nin.

The feeling of eyes on her was heavy enough to pull her attention away from her immediate surroundings. Minato was talking to one of the guards in hushed tones not far from where he'd left her with Kakashi ( _who had gone from glaring figurative kunai into her back, to pretending she didn't exist_ ), but the rest of the guards in the vicinity were starring at her.

She shifted uncomfortably and tiny fingers plucked at the rolled sleeves of her oversized shirt. ( _Minato had forced Kakashi to give her his extra since hers hadn't been worth trying to save. She liked the way it smelled. Like safety and home._ )

"Alright kiddos," Minato said as he rejoined them. ( _Kakashi's glares were back and Sakura fought the urge to giggle._ ) "There's a few things I have to attend to. Kakashi, take Sakura to the administrative building and I'll meet you there."

Before the silver-haired jounin could protest, he was gone.

Sakura could already feel her pulse quickening with anxiousness as she hazarded a peek at the young man next to her.

He was back to glaring at her again. ( _Sigh._ )

...

He walked several paces in front of her and no matter how much she tried to hurry ( _her legs were too short, too slow, very frustrating_ ), he always seemed just out of reach.

She gave up after awhile. Sakura found when she slowed down to a more comfortable pace, Kakashi slowed with her to maintain the same distance.

So she trailed him at a more leisurely stride and took in her surroundings. Everything was brighter and more alive than the last time she'd seen Konoha. There were some places here that had ceased to exist by the time she was old enough to notice. Some things hadn't changed at all. The people still stared at interesting things ( _pink haired children with Konoha's silver-haired prodigy_ ) with open curiosity.

But it was the Uchiha District that brought her to a stand still. She had only ever seen it in disuse. Windows dark. Streets empty. Vines overtaking the walls.

Sakura stood beneath the brightly painted arch that was the entrance to the district and stared in open amazement.  _This_  Uchiha District was  _alive_. Children ran down the streets and banners with the Uchiha fan waved jauntily throughout.

And then the view was gone, replaced by a guard. A guard with black hair and red eyes who looked as friendly as Sasuke had been and  _more_  suspicious than Kakashi.

_Eep._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Part III of the Time Travel Shenanigans. People are staring, Kakashi smells like comfort and home, and Uchiha are just as friendly in the past as they are in the future - that is to say, they're not, really. ;D_


	6. How It Starts (Time Travel Shenanigans, Part IV)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** Spectrum  
>  **Title:** How It Starts  
>  **Series:** Time Travel Shenanigans, Part IV

It was the flare of her chakra — what little of it there was — that had Kakashi's hand going for a kunai as he swiveled around.

But there was no threat, at least of the small pink haired variety. There was an Uchiha though, and he didn't look happy that someone from outside the clan dared hover just outside the ( _wide open_ ) gates. Besides Obito though ( _guilt, guilt, regret, guilt_ ), Uchiha's had the emotional range of a teaspoon. For all Kakashi knew, that could be his happy face. ( _And really, it could also be his You've-Got-Ten-Seconds-Until-You-Die face. It was difficult to tell with Uchihas._ )

One part of him greatly approved of this. Ninja should never show what they think or feel, and if they must give something away in expression or manner, then it shouldn't be more than the displeasure and disdain most the Uchiha and Hyūga affected. There was another part of him, however, that thought it was heaping pile of shit. ( _Kakashi had once admired the Uchiha their unaffectedness, but Obito had never liked the stone cold, no nonsense demeanor of his clan._ )

He re-sheathed his kunai and reclaimed the distance between him and the tiny pink terrorist.

Once he was standing just behind her, the Uchiha lifted his gaze.

"She's with me," Kakashi said.

He was obviously unexpected because she startled with a small squeak, and wide eyes found him moments later. Kakashi would be lying if he said he didn't take a small amount of perverse pleasure in it, and if he smirked, well, no one was the wiser.

Apparently surprise was catching, however, because that's exactly what he was when she latched onto his hand with both of hers and shadowed herself behind him so he was between her and the Uchiha. ( _Good instincts._ )

He frowned at the top of her head. A large part of him wanted to extricate himself immediately and reestablish his personal space, but the urge was staid if only because the action would contradict his claim moments prior. ( _He noted that her tiny hands were soft and very warm, as was her presence hovering along his right side. Her scent was tinted with his own. It wasn't unpleasant._ )

"Hn."

Kakashi looked back up. The grunt could mean a variety of things. However, since the Uchiha sprung back into the tree from which he'd apparently come from, he took it to mean the guard was satisfied with Kakashi's claim and was thus no longer interested in either of them.

Good enough. He stirred into motion again. "Stop poking your nose where it doesn't belong. If you're not careful someone will cut it off."

He took her sullen silence as acknowledgement of the implied threat, as well as acquiescence to his superior good sense.

( _Sakura stuck her tongue out at him when he glanced away._ )

If it so happened that Kakashi did not relinquish her hand, it was only because keeping her close would quicken the journey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _It's tricky getting inside the mind of a boy who's on the verge of becoming a young man, who at the same time often has the responsibilities of a man and is treated like one in a lot of cases given his rank as jounin. It'd probably be twice as tricky to be the person who has to live that dichotomy. *pats Kakashi*_
> 
> _Also, I like that he noticed Sakura's scent had mixed with his own (since she's been wearing his shirt)._


	7. R U Mine?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** Check yes or no  
>  **Title:** R U Mine?  
>  **Series:** N/A

Sakura eyed the note Kakashi was unfolding with interest.

The way his head tipped to the side as he read reminded her of Pakkun when he was more confused than normal by Naruto's questions ( _or particularly concerned her blond teammate would hurt himself with his own idiocy_ ).

Green eyes flicked to the teammate that had produced the note. He was smiling serenely, but then he was always smiling like that. It was kind of a more pleasant version of the blank face ( _frowny, grumpy, stupid face_ ) most Uchiha affected. It was hard to tell whether they were happy, sad, angry… or maybe just constipated.

"What's it say?" she asked as she directed her gaze back to Kakashi.

He rubbed at the back of his neck and shoved the small scrap of paper at her. "You tell me."

She eyed him curiously, but took it from him and dropped her gaze to read it.

...

_Dear Hatake Kakashi,_

_I like you very much. Do you like me too? Check yes, or no._

_[_] YES_  
 _[_] NO_

_Sincerely,_  
 _Sai_

...

Sakura couldn't help it. She laughed, and when she saw Kakashi's disapproving, pouty expression, she laughed some more — the kind of laughter that made tears gather at the corners of her eyes and was beginning to make her stomach cramp.

When she managed to reign herself in a bit ( _that is to say, she was only giggling ever few seconds or so_ ), she directed her attention back to Sai. "What brought that on?"

"I read that it was an appropriate way to inquire about another's opinion of one's self." He reached out to catch one of her tears on the tip of his finger and looked at it curiously.

After batting at Sai's hand ( _because if she didn't, the next thing she knew he'd be tasting her tears. A girl had her limits._ ), Sakura turned her attention back to the silver-haired nin, the light in her eyes just a little gleeful. "So how 'bout it, Kaka-chan? You gonna check yes, or no?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _The obvious with a prompt like 'check yes or no' was to have some kind of fluffy little thing happen between Kakashi and Sakura. I was trying to think outside the box a bit more than that with this one. But I'm really tired tonight and am not sure about the execution. Hmm._


	8. down the rabbit hole (Time Travel Shenanigans, Part V)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** Evanescent ( _quickly fading or disappearing_ )  
>  **Title:** down the rabbit hole  
>  **Series:** Time Travel Shenanigans, Part V

The truth was Sakura had no idea what happened.

Upon awaking to Minato's hovering, she'd been honest; she had no idea who she was, where she was from, or how she came to be with he and Kakashi. ( _Apparently she'd popped into existence nearly right on him. Sakura was thankful he wasn't the type to kill and ask questions later._ )

She'd felt worn and  _empty_.

It wasn't until after food and more sleep that she realized it was chakra depletion, and also who she was and where she was  _not_  — her own time. ( _And not dead, surprisingly._ )

Now she was in the Third's office with Inoichi kneeling in front of her.

Sakura was perched on the edge of a chair and her feet swung a steady rhythm as she watched him with great interest. He looked so  _young._

He was explaining what was about to happen.

"You promise it won't hurt?" she asked.

"Promise."

She gave him a beaming smile before closing her eyes.

...

She sneezed.

"Bless you," a small voice chirped.

Sakura realized many things then. (1) She was sitting on the middle stump of training ground three, and (2) she was holding her younger self tightly on her lap — her grown self's lap.

"Thanks." She gave… herself? …a small smile, but her attention quickly shifted to the trees surrounding the clearing. They were swaying as if touched by a sudden wind. "He will find his way here soon. Together we could force him out, but then they will suspect the wrong things. You would not be safe, and it's unlikely I'll find my way back to where I should be."

She met green eyes identical to her own. "I will have to go into the trees."

"But what if you get lost?" Small Sakura sniffled.

"Then I'll be our preconscious." She gave her younger self a reassuring smile and stroked her hair ( _so long, so long ago_ ). "It is probably for the best."

She hugged her small self tight. "I won't be far, I promise," she whispered.

...

The darkness beyond the trees wrapped around her like mist. She soon faded from view altogether, as if she'd never been there at all.

...

It was harder than it should have been to fully submerge himself into her subconscious, and when he finally did, the location he found himself was most unexpected. Inoichi recognized the training ground — one within the walls of Konoha. Very curious it was significant to the girl.

A sound drew his attention and he turned. She stood near a stump, tears running down her face as she stared into the trees.

He knelt. "Sakura."

His voice seemed to startle her, but moments later she was wiping away her tears and offering him a wobbly smile. "It didn't hurt at all," she offered.

He pat her head reassuringly and then held out his hand. "Show me your favorite places?"

A small hand slipped into his. "Okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _And we're back to the Time Travel Shenanigans (Part V). Future Sakura has braved the outer reaches of their mind to keep Present Sakura (as well as herself), safe. But that means she won't be as active a participant going forward. Thoughts on this development?_
> 
> _(And thank you to **mica** for taking the time to leave reviews! I really appreciate your thoughts :)_


	9. doesn't everybody (want the same thing) (Time Travel Shenanigans, Part VI)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** "Doesn't Everybody" - Leann Rimes   
> **Title:** doesn't everybody (want the same thing)  
>  **Series:** Time Travel Shenanigans, Part VI

Finding his way into the depths of Sakura's subconscious was much easier after Inoichi found Sakura in the clearing. They had lunch at a ramen stand called Ichiraku. ( _The same stand is currently under construction._ )

Few people had the strength of mind to project themselves, and fewer still were able to affect the internal landscape. It was startling to see, especially from a child.

The food made Sakura sleepy, and before he knew it she was asking to be picked up.

Inoichi could have forced his way further into her mind, but it would have hurt ( _never break a promise to a child_ ), and it was only when she was dozing on his shoulder did Inoichi dig deeper to see what there was to be seen.

...

_A bedroom decorated in shades of pink. A warm embrace. The brush of lips against her temple. The sound of steps receding. Contentment._

_..._

_Walking up a tree._

_..._

_Waking on a cold bench, the moon high in the sky. The gates of Konoha are wide open. Rejection is suffocating, but determination sparks deep within._

_..._

_Pressing her nose into the too-long sleeve of Kakashi's shirt. Smells like home, makes her warm-fuzzy inside. (doesn't everybody want the same thing?)_

_..._

_Holding a kunai to his back. Tears and devastation._ _Can't do it._

_..._

_The battlefield is ravaged by jutsu and there are bodies. It is raining. She holds the last one who matters in her arms as he breaths his last. Anguish._

_..._

_Reviving a dead fish back to life._

_..._

_Her home is rubble. Her parents are gone. She weeps._

_..._

_She wakes up crying, pulse racing, breathing too fast. Minato pets her hair and soon she is trying to keep heavy eyelids open a bit longer. Safe._

_..._

_Chakra at her fingertips. It is green._

_..._

_A red ribbon that is precious is draped over a framed photo (faces blurred, indistinct), which is more precious still. Longing. Lonely._

_..._

Inoichi opened his eyes. He is in the Third's office; the girl now slumped back into the chair. Her feet are no longer swinging. She is asleep.

"Well?"

The voice brings him from his own mind and Inoichi stands. "She is… curious," he says after a long moment. "Her mind is strong, as is her sense of self. It was difficult to find my way to her subconscious, and she was there to greet me when I arrived. Her mind chose training ground three. Konoha was vivid. Ichiraku was built."

Minato's brows rose. The Third hummed, urging him to continue.

"Her memories are…" Inoichi searched for the right word. "Sporadic. A moment in vivid detail, but others no more than a sense perception, or emotion. Some details startlingly clear, but faces were largely indistinct. She was, or is, a ninja."

Inoichi's eyes found Sakura. He did not think she could make her hands glow green, and yet he knew she had. "Nothing was planted, and there were no unnatural barriers, but she knows things she should not."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _More of the Time Travel 'verse. I hope not too confusing! With the daily challenges only allowing 500 words, figuring out what to keep always comes down to hard decisions between little details I'm enamored with and what needs to be there to make it (mostly) understandable._
> 
> _So. Thoughts?_


	10. set the wheels in motion (Time Travel Shenanigans, Part VII)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** Set  
>  **Title:** set the wheels in motion  
>  **Series:** Time Travel Shenanigans, Part VII

Just before the sun sets the sky is ablaze.

When it dips over the horizon it's as if the air itself goes still in mourning of the light. Dusky purple and inky blues bleed over the sky as creeping darkness meets the warm colors from a day nearly gone. The time between darkness and light is tenuous, like a gossamer film.

Minato likes the twilight. It is not often he gets to enjoy it.

He is taking his time, has meandered near the training grounds where a fog will rise from the ground when the warmth of the day has been snuffed. It is closer to autumn now, than summer. ( _The twilight of seasons._ )

A warm puff of air stirs his hair. Sakura is draped over his back, and his shoulder is her pillow ( _it's beginning to feel normal_ ).

He has answers now, but he also has more questions. She is not a threat to the village, but she  _knows_  Konoha, and she has done jutsu. She had one of his daggers, and Kakashi's chakra is a familiar hum over his skin when he presses his thumb against the seals carefully imbued into the hilt. But Sakura has never been in the village, and she is too undeveloped to perform jutsu of consequence, and Minato knows for a fact none of his daggers are missing.

The slight girl the fates literally dropped on him was a twilight herself. Exposed in the light, exactly what she presented to be, and yet hazy and indistinct in the shadows, secrets just out of reach like the stars which only barely begin to shine on a clear evening.

Minato's lips curl slightly. Kushina would tease him for the eloquent prosiness of his thoughts.

He is not far from his home now; he pauses, though does not turn around. Moments later a shadow seems to materialize out of the darkness next to him.

"You knew I was there." His student ( _Kakashi is no longer his in that way, but he will always be his in the ways that matter_ ) sounds put out.

"Of course."

"Why aren't you rid of her yet?" Kakashi's voice is carefully blank.

He wonders the same himself. The Third had not seen a need to monitor her. A foster family could have been found. Instinct tells him to keep her in sight though, and Minato has learned to trust his instincts. ( _Only trauma causes nightmares like hers._ )

There is only a sliver of daylight when he finally answers. "A sakura tree isn't meant to drift." ( _Nor are wolves meant to be alone._ )

His words make the younger man tense ( _cracked, frayed, broken too_ ). "I would enjoy company for dinner. She will sleep through the night."

It is silent a long moment, but Kakashi shifts closer and the tension is gone.

"Sure."

Minato's lips curl slightly and he begins walking again. His step is perfectly matched; it sounds as if only one passes through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _There's such a nuance to the way Minato goes about caring for Kakashi. He's a quality human being._
> 
> _I listened to["Silhouettes" by Of Monsters And Men](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnezy9iRUR8) while writing this. It has a moody, introspective feel to it... that tenuous gossamer of twilight in sound. This one definitely reflected my music choice tonight._


	11. interlude with an interloper (Time Travel Shenanigans, Part VIII)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** Dandelion Fluff  
>  **Title:** interlude with an interloper  
>  **Series:** Time Travel Shenanigans, Part VIII

At twelve ( _almost thirteen, basically_ ) Kakashi is the youngest jounin in the village. It's completely beneath him to be tasked with 'keeping an eye on Sakura'.

She eyed him curiously and tried to talk to him several times, but his old sensei hadn't said he had to interact. ( _Didn't she understand he didn't want her here? This was_ _his_ _village, and Minato was_  hissensei, _and pink hair is stupid._ ) Kakashi studiously ignored her in favor of the book Obito gave him when… well, before.

That wasn't to say he didn't keep an eye on her though.

He felt her frowns even if he didn't seen them, and when her clothes shifted as she moved away ( _his clothes_ ), he lifted his gaze just over the top edge of his book.

She poked her nose into everything, every cupboard and drawer and interesting looking storage container. ( _"I know you're watching, Kaka-san. He didn't say I_ _couldn't_ _."_ )

A pile of books was eventually unearthed, and it was only then her snooping ceased. The book of old children's tales was discarded after her initial delight over the scribbles inside the front cover ( _"Look Kaka-san! His name's right here! He's had it since he was a baby Minato-chan."_ ).

The book she eventually settled on for the next hour was a text about administering first aid in the field. Borrrinnnng.

( _It did remind him of Rin and her studies, and that he should probably go check on her. Or something._ )

Eventually the pink interloper had enough of the house, and the book, and ventured outside. Kakashi was forced to follow along. ( _The breeze felt good. He wasn't torn up over her decision._ ) The house was on the outskirts of the village and she went straight for the trees; it wasn't long until they happened upon a meadow.

It was only after her third seemingly aimless loop of the clearing he finally broke the silence he'd imposed on himself. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for a wish."

Kakashi eyed her skeptically.

"Oh! Here's one!" She waved him over ( _smiled at him like he mattered_ ). "See," she said as she crouched down to point at her discovery. "It's perfect and hasn't lost any seeds."

It was a dandelion. He said as much.

"Not for much longer," she informed him as she shielded it from the breeze and carefully picked it. "A perfect dandelion can be turned into a wish if you think about what you want really, really hard, and then blow all the seeds off in one breath."

She closed her eyes ( _wishing, apparently_ ), and Kakashi crossed his arms. Moments later green ( _green, green, green_ ) eyes opened and she blew. The seeds scattered on the breeze and he watched them dance away.

"Pointless."

"You're just jealous you don't have a wish, too." She stomped off.

Whatever.

( _And no, Kakashi did_ _not_ _care that she eventually brought him his own wish._ )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Time Travel Shenanigans, an interlude. Basically because I want Kakashi and Sakura to spend time together._
> 
> _Over 70% of the drabbles I've written up to this point have been in the Time Travel 'verse. I can't really plan ahead much since I don't know what the future prompts will be, but now that I have a little sandbox to play in, I've found it's easier to just go back there. I may try to branch out a bit going forward. Maybe a crossover. Maybe more Kakashi!Genie from last year (in "Roads Untraveled"). And let's be honest, probably more Time Travel Shenanigans, too ;)_
> 
> _Thank you for the comments and kudos! Y'all make me want to write something worth reading every day instead of just trying to get the daily drabble out of the way. Muah!_


	12. breathe in (hold it, hold it)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** Mask  
>  **Title:** breathe in (hold it, hold it)  
>  **Series:** N/A

_Perhaps this moment has been coming for a long time. Maybe she hoped it wouldn't. (Maybe she hoped it would.) It doesn't matter, because now that it's here, Sakura can't think of anything except how close he is, how his body feels pressed against hers, how she maybe doesn't mind he's pinned her wrists to the ground above her head._

_They sparred. He won this time. That should be all there is._

_But he's so close and they made the mistake of letting their eyes linger too long, and now her breathing is shallow and her lashes are heavy and her pulse is racing and he is breathing her in and oh, oh… breathe, breathe, sighhhh… he's nuzzling the line of her jaw._

...

Sakura is seventeen, and she is not a virgin. She is no ingénue in any sense of the word. Any illusions she may have once had about being a ninja ( _heroes and adventures_ ), or love ( _romance and happily ever afters_ ), or life in general ( _Konoha as a beacon for justice and goodness_ ) were shattered years ago.

Ninja are killers and liars, missions are nothing but high risk jobs that pay well, ninja are too damaged for real romance or happily ever afters, and Konoha is dirty, filthy politics underneath it all.

If Sakura believes in anything, she believes in Naruto. He is the only thing truly pure that's left in her world. Perhaps that is why she's not prepared.

Sakura has forgotten what it feels like to be drunk on possibilities.

...

_He presses his lips to her pulse point and it jumps, jumps, jumps for him — she can't even feel him properly with his mask on and yet her heart races as if there is nothing left between them but formalities._

_Her lips part… pant, pant, pant._

_Her body trembles._

_Kakashi hasn't even removed his mask. She has not felt his lips on her, she has yet to taste him, and they are still on training ground seven, dirty and sweaty and tired, but it doesn't matter. Sakura has never felt more alive._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Unresolved sexual tension! I mean, will it happen? Will she ever feel his lips, or taste him? Or will the moment be broken? Will he get spooked and disappear and leave her there with her blood thrumming and body wanting?_
> 
> _I love the titillation of two people who are resisting the attraction between them and yet still find themselves in situations where their restraint is just not strong enough to completely stop a moment like this from happening. Rawrs._


	13. our souls are all we own

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** Lantern  
>  **Title:** our souls are all we own  
>  **Series:** N/A

Sakura folds, and folds. White lanterns with perfect creases and perfect edges.

...

_"Hey, forehead."_

_"Hey, pig." Sakura's brow is furrowed. The words of the text are starting to blur._

_"Tōrō nagashi is coming."_

_Ino's voice is neutral. Ino's voice is never neutral. Sakura finally pulls her gaze from the book to look at her friend. Oh. Oh._

_..._

She dips a brush into a pot of ink, painstakingly paints with bold, black strokes. She has a steady hand and each kanji is perfect.

...

_"Wear a kimono." There is no bend in her voice._

_"But Sakura-chaaaaan." There is only plaintive whining in Naruto's voice. His lower lip wibbles._

_"Just do it, baka." Sakura slaps him upside the back of his head._

_Really, she only gets his hair. Naruto looks properly chastened, makes promises, and then leans in for more 'tough love'. He likes to be pet._

...

She is done.

Sakura stores them ever so carefully in a storage scroll and tucks it into the folds of her kimono.

...

_"I taught you too well."_

_"You barely taught me anything," she counters, but there is no bite in her tone._

_"So mean," Kakashi says. It is almost a drawl. "Cut's so deep."_

_"Shut up." Sakura is no nonsense, but there is fondness there. "You're going to be my escort. If you try to run away I will make you hurt later." She meets his single dark eye. "Be happy I didn't make you dress up."_

_Kakashi employs his survival skills. "Who am I to refuse a pretty woman the pleasure of my company?"_

_Sakura snorts._

_He holds out his arm and a small hand slips in to rest in the crook of his elbow._

...

Everyone who matters is by the river when they arrive.

...

_Sakura slips the scroll from her kimono and Ino does the same. The lanterns are carefully pulled from their temporary confine._

_One each for Asuma, and Inoichi, and Shikaku. (Team Ten has lost so much. Her heart hurts.)_

_One for Jiraiya. (When Naruto hugs her she feels like she might break from the power of it. She hugs him just as hard.)_

_One each for Obito, and for Rin. There is also one for Sakumo and his wife. (She meets Kakashi's eyes and wishes she could bottle up his expression and keep it with her always.)_

_One for Neji. (Lee bawls, and it's okay.)_

_The last lantern is for the Uchiha. (Sasuke is not here to see his family off, so she will do it for him.)_

_The candles are lit and the lanterns are put in the river, guides for the spirits who have haunted their dreams. The living aren't meant to hold so tightly to the dead._

_A hand slips around hers. Sakura links her fingers with Kakashi's._

...

They watch the lanterns until they disappear around the bend. It is a goodbye, of sorts, but it is also a  _I'll see you again someday soon._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Per Wikipedia, "Tōrō nagashi is a Japanese ceremony in which participants float paper lanterns (chōchin) down a river; tōrō is traditionally another word for lantern, while nagashi means "cruise, flow". This is primarily done on the last evening of the Bon Festival - a festival based on the belief that this guides the spirits of the departed back to the other world... Traditional Japanese beliefs state that humans come from water, so the lanterns represent their bodies returning to water."_


	14. every time you go (Time Travel Shenanigans, Part IX)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** Promises  
>  **Title:** every time you go  
>  **Series:** Time Travel Shenanigans, Part IX

Weeks passed, and then months. Sakura was introduced to Rin ( _who was not quite sure of her because Kakashi was so put about her existence_ ) and Kushina ( _who she got on smashingly with, much to the concern of Minato_ ), and eventually enrolled in the Academy. ( _And was doggedly building her chakra reserves in her spare time. She walked up trees, and the sides of houses, and on the ceiling while dinner was being made because it made Minato smile and Kakashi frown._ )

The war was not over. In fact, it was getting worse.

Sakura hated when they had to leave.

...

_She was petting his hair._

_It had become a favorite past time of hers, he discovered. She would perch herself on the back of the sofa behind him, legs dangling over his shoulders, and little fingers would sift through his hair while she chattered about her day. (She 'approved' of Kushina, loved tempura, had been doing the chakra exercises he'd taught her, and thought her courses at the Academy were boring.)_

_Minato had become quite fond of her._

_He tugged on her foot and she spilled onto the sofa next to him. "I've got a mission."_

_Sakura's smile slipped. "Leaving in the morning?"_

_"Mmm," he hummed in the affirmative. He tugged a lock of her hair. "I need you to promise me something."_

_She wrinkled her nose at him, batted away his hand, and wriggled up into a sitting position. "What 'cha need, Minato oji-san?"_

_"I need you to take care of Kakashi while I'm gone."_

_Confusion tinted her features. "But Kakashi-kun is a jounin, and he leads missions, and he even lives by himself."_

_"Mhmm," he agreed as he set his hand on her head. "But you're good at taking care of people, and Kakashi-kun needs caring for." She glowed at his praise and he leaned in so they were closer to eye level. "Sometimes the people who seem to not need caring for need it the most."_

_"Kind of like you?" she asked, green eyes clear and intent._

_His lips turned up ever so slightly at the corners. "Kind of like me," he agreed._

_Sakura's nod was a solemn one. "I promise to take good care of Kakashi-kun while you're gone."_

_Moments later she launched herself at him, slim arms slipping around his neck so she could press her cheek to his. (His hair tickled her nose.) "Promise me you won't die, or explode, or get maimed?"_

_"I promise to try." It was the best he could give._

_She leaned back so she could see him again. "And promise to bring me something sharp and shiny?"_

_He laughed and flicked her nose._

...

"Go away."

"Can't!" she chirped as she followed doggedly at his heels.

Her cheerfulness annoyed him. Kakashi stuffed his hands in his pockets. He'd tried losing her in the crowd, but stopped short of disappearing on the rooftops. He'd made a promise. ( _Wily old man._ )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _More Time Travel Shenanigans. Today was one of those days I felt constrained by the word limit. I had SO MANY IDEAS, and there was so much I wanted to explore with the idea of Minato getting Sakura and Kakashi to promise to take care of each other. And because of #irony, tomorrow I will probably have no ideas at all._
> 
> _Sigh._


	15. the little things/one step closer (Time Travel Shenanigans, Part X)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** "I waited…"  
>  **Title:** the little things/one step close  
>  **Series:** Time Travel Shenanigans, Part X

Kakashi was tired. He was tired of the war, and missing Obito ( _and feeling guilty_ ) and tired of never knowing what to say to Rin. ( _And if he was honest, he was tired of being angry at his father, and tired of missing him, too._ )

Kakashi was also tired from his mission.

Nothing had gone right except everyone had survived. One team was in the hospital and Kakashi himself was worse for wear. Rin had wanted to see him home and heal anything she might have missed, but… ( _She wanted something he didn't fully understand, but he did know whatever it was, he didn't want it, and he knew even if he did, he couldn't, wouldn't, not ever, because Rin was Obito's dream, and why hadn't someone prepared him for this?_ ) … it wasn't right.

He was relieved when he saw the roof of his home through the trees.

The moon bathed the old house, but the windows were dark ( _they were always dark, no one to come home to, hadn't been anyone for a long time_ ). A quick scan proved nothing had triggered his traps, and there were none lying in wait for him. Everything was as it should be.

He dropped from the trees to finish the trek on foot, but moments later his nostrils flared and Kakashi stilled. There was someone there.

His hand hovered near his kunai as he inhaled deeply. Spring rain and a faint, sweetness underlying it… jasmine.

The tension seeped out of him and his brow furrowed. Annoyance stirred, but he was too tired for it to fully manifest.

He stirred into motion again and a few strides later he could see his back porch and the small person curled in the wooden rocking chair near the door.

Sakura.

When he neared Kakashi stared down at her. He was tempted to go in and leave her. She shouldn't even be here, and she wasn't his responsibility.

Instead he found himself toeing the tip of one of the chair's runners to make it rock. She started almost instantly and blinked sleepily up at him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

She blinked sleepily at him. "You were supposed to be back earlier."

He tipped his head and she seemed to understand he was waiting for her to elaborate.

"I waited because everyone should have someone who waits for them." She shifted so her legs hung off the edge of the chair. "Tomorrow we can wait for Minato oji-san," she added before yawning and then smiling sleepily at him.

Something warm and fluttery blossomed in his chest and Kakashi wasn't quite sure what to think of it, and he wasn't quite sure what to say to her.

So he said nothing. He disabled the traps and moved past her.

He left the door open behind him.

The soft tread of two strides in his long-empty home was unfamiliar, but surprisingly not unwelcome.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Kakashi amuses me. He consciously resists Sakura and everything she stands for because she intruded on his territory (Minato), but unconsciously he's already expanded his territory to include her (her scent is something to ease tension). He's cute. *pats him*_


	16. (when you call on me) i'm alive (Time Travel Shenanigans, Part XI)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** “I’m Alive” by Celine Dion  
>  **Title:** (when you call on me) i'm alive  
>  **Series:** Time Travel Shenanigans, Part XI

If he hadn't caught her scent ( _spring rain and jasmine_ ) Kakashi would have passed right by. Now that he knew she was in the tree foliage nearby and was completely masking her chakra, however, he wanted to know  _why_.

He followed his nose and made his way silently from branch to branch until he landed in a crouch on a bough above his target — her pink hair was easy to spot through the greenery. Her attention seemed to be fixed on something in the clearing just north of their location, and as he watched, she began to silently tread along the limb.

A glance in the direction she was intent on proved useless. The foliage was too thick. Instead, Kakashi reached out with his senses — only to be met by two familiar chakra signatures.

Why was Sakura sneaking up on Minato and Kushina?

Only one way to find out. Kakashi smirked.

He was silent as he crept along above her, slipped down to a lower branch, and then locked his legs around the bough and swung down. His head popped out of the leaves right in front of her. "Boo."

"Eee!"

The tiny squeak was followed by wide, panic stricken eyes, wild flailing, and then a glorious tumble off the branch. Even from upside down it was delightful.

Kakashi dropped down to crouch on the branch where Sakura had been and looked over the edge — only to see her stuck to the bottom side of the thick limb by the very tips of her fingers and toes. ( _Surprisingly, her chakra control was already better than most chunin and some jounin. She would graduate early — not as early as he, or Uchiha Itachi, but early enough that some were already eyeing her consideringly. Kakashi did not like it._ )

Sakura was glaring darkly at him and Kakashi smirked again. "Masking your chakra doesn't do any good if you're not paying attention to your surroundings."

Her eyes widened and before he knew it she was on him like a burr, hand slapped over his masked mouth. "Shut up, Kakashi-kun!" she whispered furiously. She pointed through the foliage. "Minato oji-san is asking Kushina-chan to marry him."

He didn't even try to pry her off as his lone grey eye followed the direction she pointed. Sure enough, there was a perfect window to view the clearing through the leaves from this exact vantage, and he could see his old sensei was on one knee. Kakashi blinked dumbly several times, and before he could fully process it all, he watched Kushina smile widely and then tackled Minato.

"EEE!"

The squeak was not quiet this time, and it was right in his ear. Kakashi winced.

"She said YES!"

And then the pink terror was pulling him forcefully through the trees toward the clearing. Kakashi idly wondered if Sakura realized she was using chakra to make herself strong enough to manhandle him. ( _He also idly wondered when he'd missed the whole intention-to-marry-the-redheaded-she-devil thing._ )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _The song prompt today had romantic love themes. I was totally thinking of Minato and Kushina, which is why there's a proposal, but I got to 500 words quicker than I expected and ran out of room to actually write them being romantic love song cute. Oh well. I enjoyed the more familiar, antagonizing-for-fun interaction between Kakashi and Sakura :D_
> 
> _Oh! And just to be clear - A lot of drabbles in "Anything Could Happen" are in the same story universe where Sakura is a little kid and Kakashi's a young teen. I've been calling them the "Time Travel Shenanigans," (or TTS) and they're all marked up at the top as part of the title. Those not marked as TTS drabbles just stand alone unless otherwise marked. They're not futures of TTS._


	17. for you (there's nothing in this world i wouldn't do)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** Nimiety ( _excess, redundancy_ )  
>  **Title:** for you (there's nothing in this world i wouldn't do)  
>  **Series:** N/A

When Sai hugged her Sakura was unsure what to make of it. When he leaned back into his own space again she found his gaze and tipped her head slightly. "What was that for?"

"I wanted to express my feelings for you. It is my understanding a hug is an appropriate way in which to do so, especially when saying goodbye," the dark eyed teen said calmly.

Sakura's brows furrowed. "Why would you be saying goodbye?"

"Because the traitor, Uchiha, is now back in Konoha," Sai explained. "He will undoubtedly be assigned to be on a team with Naruto and yourself once again."

Sai mimicked her and tipped his head to the side, though his expression was intent. "You and Naruto have been striving to bring him home and reunite your original team for over a third of your lives. The Hokage has been particularly indulgent of your endeavors. It only stands to reason she will reunite the original members of Team 7." His tone was patient. "My presence is redundant."

The longer she listened, the more she felt an almost forgotten foe carve a phantom hole inside her — the one that had overtaken her when Sasuke had left, then Naruto, and Kakashi hadn't even thought she was enough by herself to invest time and effort in.

Her hands clenched, knuckles white.

Sai eyed her. "You are angry. Very curious."

" _No._ " She shook her head. "No, I'm just remembering what it felt like… no one should ever be made to feel useless." Sakura lifted her eyes to his. "You're  _not_  redundant, Sai."

She lifted her hands to cup his face. "You're part of our team. You're our friend. You're  _my_  friend. Anyone who abandons their friends are  _trash_. I love Sasuke, but I don't like him, and he's got a lot to prove before I'll ever trust him with my life ever again. I trust  _you_ ," she insisted fiercely. "So stop being dumb. You're our teammate."

"It is actually quite logical to assume my presence would no longer be necessary," he said, "but I think I am pleased by your deviation from rationality if the warmth I am currently experiencing radiating from a center point in my chest is any indication."

The smile he gave her had shades of his normal slightly vacant one, but there was real emotion in his eyes. It was enough to stay her impulse to 'deviate from rationality' with her fist. Instead she smiled back.

They were quite close now and she was still holding him. Sai covered his hands with her own. "I have read that the way we are touching one another is quite intimate, and that when two people are standing this close, the combination of two such events would normally result in a kiss." Sai glanced at her mouth curiously. "Is that what you want me to do now?"

Sakura  _did_  give into the impulse to 'deviate from rationality' then and punched him. "Idiot," she muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _The word limit got me again. The entire idea I had for this incorporated Kakashi more directly - he was supposed to have overheard this conversation and felt guilty about how he'd been a terrible sensei to Sakura way back when._
> 
> _Is it really the 17th? I've somehow made it past the halfway point. About two weeks to go until the challenge is complete... is there anything y'all are hoping to see before the thirty days are up? (I can't guarantee anything since I don't know what the prompts will be until they're revealed every day, but I always welcome ideas :)_


	18. Echo (Time Travel Shenanigans, Part XII)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** Peripatetic ( _walking about, or from place to place_ )  
>  **Title:** Echo  
>  **Series:** Time Travel Shenanigans, Part XII

The guards were curious about the pink-haired child. She didn't say anything when she arrived, only sat quietly against the outer wall, green eyes focused intently on the tree line. But hours passed, the sun set, and they left the little girl to her vigil.

Sakura was worried. It wasn't unusual for ninja to be home later than expected from a mission, but Kakashi-kun was  _never_  this late.

...

After spending the night waiting on his back porch and dozing sporadically, Sakura set out to find answers when the sun rose. Minato oji-san and Kushina-chan weren't due back to the village for several days though, and the mission clerk didn't seem concerned about  _her_  concerns, or much inclined to help her, regardless. Sakura was hesitant to seek Rin — the older girl wasn't unkind, but she wasn't particularly warm, either. If there was one thing Sakura knew, though, it was that Rin cared deeply about Kakashi-kun.

But Rin was nowhere to be found. ( _She was beginning to think she was being avoided._ )

...

Sakura tensed. She thought she might have imagined it at first… She blinked to wake herself some, and focused… there was the barest movement just through the foliage, illuminated by the moon.

She was already racing out of the village when she yelled back, "Get a medic!"

...

There was so much blood.

Panic buzzed through her as she skidded to her knees. Kakashi looked at her listlessly and then his eyelid drooped closed.

"Kakashi-kun!" she sobbed, little hands fluttering uselessly.

_Calm down. We can do this._

Sakura didn't wonder at the still, inner voice piercing through her panic. She forced her breathing to quiet and determination steadied her.

Her hands flew through unfamiliar signs and then glowed green.

...

The guards and medic found them. The pink-haired child was slumped over him, unconscious. The grey-haired teen was alive. Barely.

...

Rin liked it better when the girl was unconscious.

Now, she watched her pace ( _back and forth, back and forth_ ). It was driving her crazy.

There was an itch between her shoulder blades — Rin wanted to be in there, wanted to be able to  _do_  something. She hadn't been on duty when Kakashi arrived in the hospital though, and so she waited. 

( _fingers clasped together in her lap, white-knuckles, back and forth, back and forth_ )

Rin clenched her jaw.

...

Hatake Kakashi was severely wounded. A collapsed lung, broken ribs, internal bleeding, evidence of blunt force trauma. It was a miracle he'd made it back to Konoha.

It wasn't until they were well into surgery the medics realized it was a miracle he'd made it to their  _table_. The wound near his heart was partially healed, as was the organ itself. Without the triage, he had been a few weak heartbeats away from death.

...

Kakashi lived.

He heard the whispers. That if someone hadn't healed him before the medics got him to the hospital, he wouldn't have made it. He remembered green eyes and green light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I had a lot more to tell. That seems to be a running theme the past few days. If I wasn't constrained by the 500 word limit for the challenge, I have a feeling the Time Travel Shenanigans pieces would have gotten progressively longer and more detailed. Part of me wishes I could expand my ideas, and another part of me is happy I'm being reigned in before I undertake something bigger than I could probably handle, haha!_
> 
> _The prompt for today, 'peripatetic', means 'a person who travels from place to place', and some common synonyms are nomadic, traveling, wandering, etc. It also refers to the philosophy or teaching methods of Aristotle - because he was known to pace back and forth while lecturing :D_


	19. Double Trouble (Time Travel Shenanigans, Part XIII)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** Frozen  
>  **Title:** Double Trouble  
>  **Series:** Time Travel Shenanigans, Part XIII

Kakashi hated hospitals.

When he asked for his clothes back the nurses scoffed. Apparently what was left of them had been thrown away. So he asked Rin if she would bring him pants. ( _Not having pants was like not having chakra. It made him feel anxious and vulnerable._ )

Rin accused him of subterfuge — that if she brought him pants he would sneak out. She insisted if the medics thought he needed to be there, then he needed to be there. ( _She was right. He would sneak out if he had pants. He'd sneak out without pants though. He would just rather do it_ _with_ _pants._ )

So he asked Sakura. For as irritating as she was, she had her uses —  _and_  she didn't know his history with Konoha's medics at the hospital.

She didn't make it back until after visiting hours, which was depressing ( _no pants_ ), but then he heard her sweet talking the nurse. For the first time Kakashi hoped she'd succeed at something. ( _"But I brought him my Ino-pig so he wouldn't be scared and alone, and I promise I won't be long, and I promise to be good."_ )

Moments later she appeared in the doorway, a big, pink stuffed pig under her arm.

"I'm the bestest," she informed him, smile bright.

Kakashi eyed the pig and then the girl herself.

She only smiled brighter, turned the pig over… and then unzipped it's belly. "Kushina-chan gave me Ino-pig," she chirped at him.

Kakashi could see his clothes. ( _Smuggled goods! Right past the eagle-eyed nurses too! She had a future in infiltration, for sure._ ) Kakashi lifted his eye to hers.  _Good job, kid._

She beamed.

"Ino-pig will take good care of you, Kakashi-kun." She zipped him back up.

A nurse appeared in the doorway. "Time's up, sweetie."

"Okay!" The pink demon crawled on the bed to give him a tight hug — unexpected, but he watched the nurse's expression soften ( _genius_ ). He patted her awkwardly on the back, but then she was gone and skipping toward the door. "Sweet dreams, Kakashi-kun!"

He waited until the lights went out and it was silent, and then extricated his trafficked goods.

Pants made everything better.

...

His break out was successful. He was not expecting a houseguest when he arrived home.

"I told you Ino-pig would take good care of you," she chattered as she poked and prodded him to his room, and then right back into bed. Kakashi blinked dumbly. She'd  _known_  he was going to sneak out.

When he was tucked in she procured a frozen pop. "Hospital food is gross," she informed him as she unwrapped it. "And cherry pops make hurts better."

The next thing he knew he had a huge stuffed pig on one side, a pink terrorist on the other, and a cherry pop. ( _It was the best tasting thing he'd had in ages._ )

Definitely better than the hospital. Not that he would tell  _her_  that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _And we pick up right where we left off in yesterday's drabble! Kind of. This didn't touch on the plot'ish stuff from yesterday (but again, constrained to 500 words — I can't fit everything in, unfortunately). This was probably the easiest one to write so far this month - first one I didn't have to poke and prod and rearrange or rewrite. It was fun to write too. A little on the silly side (pants!), maybe, but Kakashi needs a little silly now and again. What did y'all think?_


	20. dance is a poem (of which each movement is a word)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** Vespertine ( _in the evening_ )  
>  **Title:** dance is a poem (of which each movement is a word)  
>  **Series:** N/A

When they were all in Konoha Team 7 always did ramen and drinks. April 17th was the last they all met — to say welcome home to Kakashi and goodbye to Sakura.

By June Kakashi was beginning to worry.

...

July 4th he was summoned to the Hokage's office and told of a B-rank solo assassination mission — it had been escalated to A-rank. There were complications.

...

It didn't take long to find her. Green eyes partially veiled by pink hair gazed from posters in Kusa's entertainment district.

The show started after dark, and the headliner was called Vespertine.

...

She was a dancer.

She was a  _mesmerizing_  dancer.

The movements of her body were sinuous, the roll of her hips sinful. The peek of skin through the colorful gauze floating around her body made it hard to look away. It was her eyes that drew a man in. They were bedroom eyes.

...

He found her back stage. "Quite the show."

A hand flew to her chest as she whirled. Her eyes were wide, but aware. She'd known he was there. "We're being watched."

Kakashi resisted looking toward the window.

"They can't suspect me of subterfuge."

He advanced on her, reached to snag a lock of pink hair. Soft. She visibly tensed and her chest rose and fell quickly ( _distracting_ ). If he didn't know better, he'd believe she was anxious.

Kakashi lifted her chin. "How many?"

"Two track me. The target's downstairs. Ten others." Her breath hitched when he ran a finger down her neck and across her clavicle. "The client lied. More than expected, and all are B-rank or higher."

He bent over her and watched her eyes darken. ( _The scent of jasmine was subtle, but if he leaned closer…_ ) "How long?"

"Not long." Her breath hitched again when he trailed his finger over the swell of her breast. ( _Skin was soft too. And warm. Very warm._ ) "Make it believable."

...

They all had their part to play.

...

He pulled her flush against him, nuzzled the line of her jaw. Skimmed his lips against her skin. She pushed at him and he knew her face would show distress, but her body — her body  _melted_  into his.

He nipped her ( _shouldn't have_ ) and a tiny sound escaped. He growled and his fingers dug into her hip. She pushed, but her hips rolled ever so slightly and it was hard to still his own reaction.

And then the door burst open and he was promptly escorted from the building. Kakashi played drunk and incompetent well.

...

The next time there were no observers. Plans were made, targets killed, and they both made it out alive.

...

Team 7 met for ramen and drinks, and Naruto made more noise than usual because  _"Sakura-chan you were gone_ _foreveeerrrr_ _."_

But later at the bar, Kakashi hovered over her and she angled her body toward his, and when she looked up at him, it was through long lashes with a shy, but inviting smile.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I had to leave so much of this on the cutting room floor to get it to 500 words. SADFUL. First draft was 800, and if I didn't have to worry about word limits, fixing it up and fleshing it out would have easily taken me over 1,000. And then I would have been in the direction of "one shot" instead of "drabble." ...I both love and despite this challenge fest, haha_
> 
> _Not a Time Travel one this time (obvsly). I was going for a Mata Hari thing (the Dutch/French courtesan spy from WWI, for those of you who don't know). Hopefully the sensuality I was trying for still comes across despite all the trimming down._


	21. you've got a friend in me (Time Travel Shenanigans, Part XIV)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** Fissiparous ( _tendency to divide into groups or factions_ )  
>  **Title:** you've got a friend in me  
>  **Series:** Time Travel Shenanigans, Part XIV

"Hi!"

He stared at her, eyes dark and solemn. Weighing.

So she sat down next to him. "I've decided we're going to be friends," she informed him. Sakura would not be put off by his silence or intense eyes ( _yet_ ). "Prodigies have to stick together, after all, and plus…" Her confidence faltered some when she met his gaze. "Well, it's kinda lonely otherwise, you know?"

His expression barely changed, but she could feel something shift — commiseration. He was lonely too. "Ok."

Relief flashed through green eyes. "Ok."

...

Sakura loved learning. She hated school.

She couldn't really remember her past, at least not the important things. She knew she was 'Sakura', but she didn't know more than that. She couldn't remember her parents, but she could remember the feeling of losing them ( _gut-wrenching, heart-stopping_ ). She couldn't remember anything about being a ninja, and yet when she learned things it was  _like_  remembering something she had just forgotten until that moment.

So school was easy, and she loved it, because each new scrap of knowledge was like learning a little bit more about herself.

But school sucked, because other kids were stupid, and no one wanted to be friends with a girl who had pink hair and no family name, and was a lot younger than everyone else in the class.

...

Most of Sakura's classmates were older — definitely closer to Kakashi-kun's age than her own. ( _And they all seemed to naturally split into groups that never included her._ )

So when she showed up one morning and a younger boy was sitting in the front row ( _Someone her size! And maybe her age!_ ) — well, he stood out as much as she did. No one talked to or acknowledged him, either.

Sakura knew how that felt.

So she straightened her spine and marched over. She smiled brightly. "Hi!"

...

"My name's Sakura, and I'm eight, and I don't know where I'm from, but I have a Minato oji-san and Kushina-chan, and Kakashi-kun, too, and I like anko dumplings," she informed him in a rush.

The boy blinked.

"I'm Itachi. I'm six." His voice was a quiet, relaxing kind of voice, Sakura decided. "I like onigiri." He tipped his head slightly, puzzlement tinting his features. "Preferred foods don't have anything to do with being ninja?"

Sakura blinked back at him.

"Well, no, I suppose not," she agreed. "But it's important for  _friends_  to know. Friends know each other's favorite foods, and colors, and secrets, and friends never leave you out, and are always there for you no matter what, and always cares about you, and a friend is someone you always share the last cookie with, and… we're friends now, right?"

He seemed to consider her words very carefully, and after a long pause ( _and just a little bit of anxiety on Sakura's part_ ), he nodded. "That's acceptable."

She beamed. She had a school friend!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Time Travel again! There may or may not be any significance to this little interlude. I mostly have just been dying to write chibi Itachi XD_


	22. don't crush me (don't break me)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** "Don't Crush Me" - Krezip  
>  **Title:** don't crush me (don't break me)  
>  **Series:** N/A

He knew better.

...

_When his lips skim her throat, her breath hitches and dainty fingers clench in his hair. She pulls slightly, undone, and his teeth drag against her skin._

_The tiny sound that escapes her blanks his mind. He'll never have enough of her._

...

There is a reason he doesn't let anyone in.

...

_Her body fits with his, a perfect kind of symmetry._

_When he rolls his hips, hers rise up. He skims his palm down her thigh, hooks his hand into the bend of her knee and pulls her tighter against him. She cries out and her nails rake down his back (yessss)._

_When he looks into her eyes, he sees home._

...

He sets a small box down next to the memorial stone and walks away.

...

_don't crush me, don't break me_

_..._

Inside the box there is a ring. It has never been worn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _My personal challenge with this one was to (a) keep it short, and (b) still blindside you with an emotional punch to the gut. Did I succeed?_


	23. this is your life (are you who you want to be?) (Time Travel Shenanigans, Part XV)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** Paperwork  
>  **Title:** this is your life (are you who you want to be?)  
>  **Series:** Time Travel Shenanigans, Part XV

They were sweaty, rumpled, and a little singed around the edges. Sakura was pleased.

She had a school-friend for school things, and a friend-friend for everything else — like training ( _playing_ ) after school with fireballs, among other things. ( _Thinks like when he pointed out she was using chakra during their taijutsu matches, and now they were perfecting how to make every hit more asplodey._ )

...

_"… 'asplodey'?" Itachi's brow furrowed._

_"Yeah. You know, like…" Sakura gestured with her hands. "Boom!"_

_Itachi nodded slowly. "You mean the maximum capacity for damage upon impact."_

_Sakura blinked, then smiled. "Yeah, that!"_

_..._

They also worked on Itachi's fireball technique, which Sakura was getting the hang of. She didn't have enough chakra yet for anything impressive, but she  _had_  developed fire spitballs ( _like darts!_ ).

But now they were done with training ( _playing_ ), and it was time for Delicious Snacks and Very Important Paperwork. ( _Helping Kushina-chan write wedding invitations, obviously._ )

"This is not a training exercise?" Itachi asked, voice distant. He was distracted by Sakura's hand wrapped around his own as she dragged him through the village. "My clan would be displeased."

"Your clan would be mad if you did stuff that wasn't training?" Sakura's nose crinkled. "That's stupid. Everyone needs hobbies outside of training."

Dark eyes lifted to watch her expressions. "Why?"

"Because all training all the time makes training not fun," she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What are your hobbies?" he asked curiously.

"Annoying Kakashi-kun, making Minato oji-san smile, eating Kushina-chan's rice balls, and doing friend things with you," she listed off easily.

"Friend things?"

"Yeah," she glanced at him. "Like sharing secrets so we can create awesome jutsu, and beating crossword puzzles together that even sensei can't do, and making up stories about Epic Ninja Naruto while we rest between taijutsu matches."

"I don't make up stories," he pointed out.

"Pfft. You give me ideas. It's the same thing."

He nodded. His clan didn't know about him sharing secrets, or doing crossword puzzles, or contemplating aloud about fabricated ninja. They only knew he did extra training after school, and that sensei was impressed, and that his taijutsu was getting better.

Itachi glanced at Sakura again. "You're sure this isn't a training exercise?"

"I'm sure…" she glanced over at him, met his gaze. Even though he was younger, they were the same height and Sakura could see in his dark eyes he was asking her something else.

"… I'm sure it could definitely be training," she amended quickly. "Someday we'll have to do lots of paperwork for missions, and be diplomatic. Writing wedding invitations to stuffy people is great practice for stuff like that."

He could work with that.

Itachi didn't quite smile, but his whole demeanor seemed to shift to something kind of like contentment. Sakura was pleased. Making Itachi like a purry, happy cat was one of her hobbies, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Because a few of you were lovely enough to leave a review yesterday about how the Short Emo Drabble did, in fact, pack a punch, and that you needed something not so sadful. So you get more chibi Itachi!_
> 
> _He's super cute. And I'd like to have chibi Itachi and Kakashi size each other up at some point. And actually, this drabble is still kind of sad in some ways, because it's sad Itachi doesn't know much about having friends, or hobbies. *pets him*_


	24. don't stop breathing (fight those demons) (Time Travel Shenanigans, Part XVI)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** Arcane (understood by few; mysterious or secret)  
>  **Title:** don't stop breathing (fight those demons)  
>  **Series:** Time Travel Shenanigans, Part XVI

Something was coming.

Even if there was, Sakura wouldn't know. Except that she might. She couldn't _remember_ , and that was different than not knowing.

But they hadn't found anything in her mind. ( _That didn't mean there wasn't anything there. She felt the whispers sometimes, like an old friend._ )

...

Piggy backing on Minato oji-san was one of Sakura's favorite things. She'd cling to him tightly with slim arms around his neck and rest her chin on his shoulder. His hair tickled her nose some, but she still pressed her cheek against his to feel warm skin and the hum of his voice when he spoke.

With her whole body pressed to his back, she could feel the steady beat of his heart ( _pound, pound, pound_ ), and the constancy of it calmed her.

Minato was home. ( _Safe._ )

...

Sometimes she felt uneasy and she didn't know why. The feeling slithered through her in a disquieting kind of way.

It was like a shadow impression of something she'd experienced before.

...

Waking up scared and alone was one of Sakura's least favorite things. Her dreams were full of people she loved with faces she could never quite remember. One by one they would die, and every loss felt  _so real_ … as if she was dreaming a memory. It was a searing, raw, agonizing kind of pain that made it hard to breathe.

The world always ended in fire.

...

The first time she appeared on the slanted roof just outside Kakashi's bedroom window in the middle of the night he ignored her completely.

But the  _tap tap tap_  against the glass a second time had him rolling out of bed. Once the curtains were pulled back and the window was open he took a breath to tell her to go home, but the words caught in his chest.

She was still in her too-big sleep shirt ( _his shirt_ ), and barefoot. Her stuffed pig was held by the tail and it hung in a sad, lifeless kind of way at her side. The moonlight caught on the still-damp tear tracks on her face.

"Minato oji-san isn't here." Her voice was raspy and tired. ( _She sounded and looked like he felt a lot of the time._ )

Kakashi pushed the window open a bit further. He didn't like being alone with his nightmares either.

He left the window unlocked after that.

...

Sometimes she felt restless. Like she should be doing something. ( _And that if she didn't do something, her dreams would come true._ )

So she trained until she didn't have any energy left to be edgy, and she studied until her brain was too saturated to be anxious. She read about bodies and medical jutsu ( _it calmed her like a cup of tea_ ), and she tried to find the seals she saw in her dreams ( _no luck_ ), and she tried to find books about dreams, too. ( _Too arcane. Ninja didn't care about dreams, only how to silence nightmares._ )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _This one came out kind of like the ideas came to me - in snapshots. A moment, a feeling, an interaction, like flipping through a photo album. Each photo is a still frame of a single second captured. They can be appreciated for what they are, one by one, but a story begins to develop when you put them all together. A photo of a flower arrangement takes on new meaning when put in context of a wedding album._


	25. half remembered dream/old souls (Time Travel Shenanigans, Part XVII)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** Better to light a candle than curse the darkness  
>  **Title:** half remembered dream/old souls  
>  **Series:** Time Travel Shenanigans, Part XVII

_"Stop, Sakura." The green light dimmed. "Stop." He coughed and blood spattered his lips._

_Will alone had gotten her this far, but at his request the light disappeared. A sob escaped and she shook her head at him, tears blurring her vision._

_The battle raged (burning, scorched flesh, tormented screams), but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore. Danzo was Hokage, and Naruto was a body wielded to make the world bow — his soul had long departed. Everyone that mattered was gone._

_Except…_

_She laced her fingers with his. "You can't leave me. You can't leave me alone. You can't… you_ _promised," she hissed as tears streamed down her cheeks._

_"I promised," he agreed as he tugged one of his hands from hers to pull something from his pocket — a triple-bladed kunai._

_(Fire closing in, nothing would matter soon. The shinobi world was burning. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.)_

_"Didn't want to have to…" He coughed. There wasn't much time. He swiped his blood across the newer seals carved into the hilt and the dormant chakra flared like a beacon._

_He pushed it into her hand. "It can only carry one soul back to it's original master. Strike true. Right in the heart."_

_A sob escaped and she shook her head. "No! I can't…" She tried to push it back at him. "You can't leave me!"_

_"Sakura." His voice was weak, but even through the chaos around them she could hear him and watery green eyes found his. He closed his hand around hers on the hilt of the kunai. "Find me. Find Minato. Make it different. Better," he rasped, the last word barely more than a breath._

_"No…" Even as she watched, his eye crinkled, an echo of an almost forgotten smile. Panic welled in her. "No!"_

_"See you soon," he breathed… and then the light went out in his eyes and his grip slackened on hers._

_"Kakashi!" she shrieked, eyes wide. "Kakashi!"_

_She screamed, and the world burned._

_..._

He woke to her screaming his name. He was alert in an instant, ready to take on whatever had dared invade his home,  _his_  territory.

But the room was still. No one was there.

The thrashing next to him pulled his grey eye to Sakura, and it was then he realized she was sobbing. He reached out to wake her, but before he could her eyes opened and she sat up, a tiny hand clenched at her heart. "It hurts," she whimpered.

And then she was on him, holding so tight around his neck it was almost painful.

"You can't leave," she whispered brokenly. "Can't leave me, can't die, can't leave me ever again."

The physical contact stilled him, but the wracking sobs vibrating from her eased the tension from his shoulders and he allowed himself to hold her back.

"I won't leave." If that's what she needed to hear to chase away the nightmare… "I promise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _And now we know how Sakura slipped back into the past, and why. This one was easy to write. There was an urgency to it, or at least that's how it felt... writing it was experiencing that moment for the first time, and there wasn't much time, and my fingers were racing, as if I wouldn't know what happened next until it was in black and white on the page, and I just had to go, go, go as fast as I could._
> 
> _Writing is sometimes hard. It's sometimes fun. And sometimes it's necessary._


	26. build a house around him (Time Travel Shenanigans, Part XVIII)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** Lapideous (of the nature of stone)  
>  **Title:** build a house around him - 500 words  
>  **Series:** Time Travel Shenanigans, Part XVIII

It was Sakura's favorite kind of day. Sunny and warm, and it smelled like spring was coming.

She closed her eyes and focused… felt the breeze against her skin, heard the murmur of her classmate's voices, the song from the bird perched in the tree they were sitting under. Leaves rustled, and the  _shiiing, shiiiiing, shiiing_  of whetstone on metal was a constant.

She opened her eyes. It was their free period and most of their classmates were socializing by the outdoor tables. Girls tossed their hair and boys postured at each other. She didn't understand. Asking questions only made them sneer at her.

So she meditated and did chakra exercises while Itachi methodically sharpened kunai.

It was nice. Peaceful. ( _She needed peaceful. Her nightmares were getting worse._ )

As she continued to modulate her breathing, something caught her eye near the main Academy building. What she saw made her frown.

"That guy's been here a lot lately. He's been watching you," she told her companion.

"That is councilman Danzo," Itachi told her. He continued sharpening.

Sakura hadn't heard the name before, but she  _felt_  like she knew it. Intimately. Adrenalin rushed through her body disrupting the steady flow of chakra. She had the most irrational urge to smash something. Or cry.

She pulled her gaze away from the man and looked at her friend. Sakura understood how things worked. Councilmen didn't concern themselves with anyone but the best, and despite she and Itachi's prodigal status at the Academy, they had a long way to go before they would be worth that kind of notice. "Why is a councilman coming to the Academy to watch you?"

The  _shiiing shiiing_  came to an abrupt halt and Itachi lifted dark eyes to hers. "Because I am the Uchiha heir. Everyone watches me."

His answer made her stomach knot, but it was his eyes that made her reach out and grab his hand. His expression was so unaffected, almost stony, but his eyes were tired and hurt and scared, and that made Sakura scared. ( _She hated Danzo._ )

"Everybody's stupid. They should just leave you alone." An urgent kind of feeling bubbled up through the cold-hot adrenalin racing through her — that she should hold on tight and never let go ( _because if she did, the world would end in fire_ ).

She linked her fingers with his and tightened her grip. "I'll make them leave you alone," she promised.

Itachi held her gaze for a long time. He must have found what he was looking for because his hand was suddenly clinging to hers just as tightly, and his eyes were more expressive than ever. Brighter. Trusting. "Thank you."

She wanted to smile, but the moment felt too heavy ( _like her dreams, like when her hands glowed green and Kakashi-kun's body knit back together_ ). She only managed a slight curl of lips and the genuine affection in her eyes. "That's what friends are for."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _*snuggles the cute chibis*_
> 
> _So. There's four days left until the Last Fan Standing challenge is done. Four more drabbles and then this project will technically be complete. But... I kind of didn't expect to create an alternate universe/story concept to play with for most of the month. And... well, I'm beginning to think I should plot out a legitimate, stand-alone story for the time travel 'verse. Incorporate some of the bits I wrote in this series. I don't usually write longer stories (cause, like, that's a ton of work XD), but I've really enjoyed the TTS drabbles and I've been pretty surprised that a lot of you have as well._
> 
> _The question is, would you be interested in a real, full length story expanding upon the TTS drabbles? Thoughts? Suggestions? Cheese?_
> 
> _I don't like to solicit responses from people who would rather lurk (I get it. I lurk too.), but if you have an opinion about this, speak now or forever hold your peace!_
> 
> _And if you made it this far *showers you in sparkly confetti*_


	27. i'm waking up to ash and dust (Time Travel Shenanigans, Part XIX)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** Forfend ( _avert, keep away, or prevent; protect something by precautionary measures_ )  
>  **Title:** i'm waking up to ash and dust - 505 words  
>  **Series:** Time Travel Shenanigans, Part XIX

"Kaka-" The voice cut off when the ninja saw his target with a finger against his mask-covered lips.  _Shhh._

It was dark out, hard to see, and the nin's brows furrowed as he moved closer… and that was when he saw the girl curled up on the ground next to the copy nin, her head pillowed in his lap. She was asleep.

Ahhh.

The messenger nin moved more silently and kept his voice low and quiet when he crouched down next to the pair. "Kakashi-taichou," he greeted. "Everyone's been accounted for except the scouts, and they're not due back until tomorrow. Station twelve has been secured for the night."

"Good good," Kakashi's voice was quiet. "Night patrol teams?"

"Done, taichou."

Kakashi nodded. "Very good. Dismissed."

The ninja made to move away, but paused. "Supper has been prepared, taichou…"

Kakashi appreciated his subordinates efforts, but he knew for a fact Sakura hadn't slept in almost thirty hours and he wasn't about to disrupt her. He shook his head and moments later the ninja was gone.

The white cloak he'd thrown over Sakura had slipped when she shifted and he reached to tug it back over her shoulders. His fingers caught in her hair and he froze, hoping to not wake her. When she didn't move though, he stirred into movement again… although not far. He let his fingers sift through her hair once before shifting to brush a pink lock off her face. She was a young woman now, but she looked looked particularly young in her sleep.

She was the last one. His last student alive, his last friend left, his last precious person. The way the war was going, it wouldn't be long until she was gone too, or until he was gone. Contemplating being alone in this new ninja world was… there would be no point. Kakashi had known once what it felt like to feel hopeless, only to bury himself in nearly impenetrable apathy. Death would be more welcome at this point. It was an end he had accepted long ago, but he didn't want it for Sakura. He didn't want her to know what it was to be alone, didn't want her to know what it was to bury all that she was so she could just exist without breaking. He didn't want her to think death was the only answer.

He'd made a promise, besides.

Kakashi pet her hair one more time, tucked the cloak more securely around her, and then reclaimed the three-bladed kunai he'd hid from view earlier. The seals had already been painstakingly carved into the hilt, but they required a massive amount of chakra to do what he needed them to do.

While she slept he fed a steady trickle of chakra into the seal. He hoped the kunai would never be needed for its new purpose, but it was all he could do to forfend against what he feared was inevitable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _In the Time Travel 'verse chibi Kakashi and Sakura are developing a special relationship, but I think future Kakashi and Sakura had a special relationship too. (I honestly couldn't tell you if it was more than deep friendship - it could be! Or it could just be the deepest kind of affection. I'll leave it to y'all to speculate ;)_
> 
> _I asked y'all a question yesterday and I got a lot of responses - from regular reviewers and a few who came out of lurkdom to chime in. Thank you! I appreciate your thoughts and suggestions. Y'all gave me a lot to think about over the next few days as the fest comes to a close ;D_


	28. everything in life is subject to change (Choices, Chances, Changes, Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** Life  
>  **Title:** everything in life is subject to change  
>  **Series:** Choices, Chances, Changes, Part 1

Everyone fails, but when Kakashi fails, people die.

All things considered, his failure as a sensei is not even close to his worst. Except he lost the last Uchiha, and Minato-sensei's son was put with a more capable teacher. His last student is so unremarkable he nearly forgets he has a responsibility to her. ( _That's a lie. He did forget her. It's not his proudest moment._ )

...

Everyone fails, but when Sakura fails, people almost die, she has to be saved, and she gets left behind. The only reason she hasn't died yet is because she's surrounded by ninja who are actually competent. ( _One of her ancestors must really love her. There's no other explanation for her continued existence._ )

Naruto nearly dies while she stands by, unable to do anything but cry.

Sakura kind of hates herself.

...

Lee is too loud, too weird, too intense, too emotional. Most times he's too much for Sakura.

But there's no such thing as too kind, too generous, too supportive. Sakura knows she's not the greatest person, knows she doesn't deserve any of it, kind of feels bad she can't return his feelings because he really is kind of wonderful in his own way.

But he's okay with her just wanting to be friends as long as she's okay with him trying to win her over. She needs a friend and he needs the challenge.

...

Training with Lee is exhausting, but that's exactly what she needs. After she leaves Naruto in the hospital she seeks the person she knows will tire her so thoroughly she won't be able to feel sorry for herself anymore.

After Epic Declarations, and their taijutsu spar, she lays in the grass trying to catch her breath. She hurts everywhere. ( _She deserves it._ ) Lee sits next to her, for once still and quiet, and she's surprised at herself when she tells him of her failure.

"Life's too short to wait to be great," says the boy no one believed in.

...

Sakura is terrified. But she is also determined.

"I want you to train me." Her voice is steady. Her hands shake. "For real this time."

...

Kakashi blinks.

The truth. He forgot about her.

But here she is, trembling and single-minded. He can see it. Spring-green eyes framed by pink, pink lashes are too bright, but also very hard. She will not take no for an answer. She will dog him, hound him, nip at his heels until he makes something of her.

"Why?"

She starts, as if expecting something different. "Because I want to be great," she says slowly. "Because I want to be useful. Because I want to stand side by side with my precious people." It's all rushing out now and her eyes glow with it. "Because I want to protect them. Because I don't ever want to be helpless ever again when someone I love needs me."

He blinks. She holds her breath.

"Okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _While I enjoy the Shenanigans, I wanted to try something else today. Wanted to see if I could come up with something that could be a jumping off point for a stand alone, multi-chaptered story. While I'm not planning on using this to start another story (at least right now), I think this is a pretty neat idea... instead of going to Tsunade to ask for personalized training, Sakura goes to Kakashi. Changing one thing and then seeing how it changes the rest of the story is one of my favorite tropes/kinks/devices. How 'bout y'all?_


	29. i got soul (but i'm not soldier) (Choices, Chances, Changes, Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** Death  
>  **Title:** i got soul (but i'm not soldier) - 505 words  
>  **Series:** Choices, Chances, Changes, Part 2

Kakashi doesn't know what he was thinking.

Mostly it's that he wasn't thinking. He was feeling. Feeling guilty he forgot, feeling hope in his shriveled heart, feeling moved in a way he hadn't allowed himself for a long time. ( _You couldn't be affected by a person if you didn't let them in. This is survival if you are a long-lived ninja._ )

What he hadn't accounted for was that she was a  _teenage girl_ , and there were no boneheaded brats to be his buffer.

It was all fits and starts.

Sakura increased her stamina and speed, and he worked her doggedly in taijutsu. Her chakra reserves increased. But it was slow-going.

Kakashi learned his words were explosive tags. Some made her eyes well up in a way that made him feel sub-human. Others made her immediately combust. Sometimes tears. Sometimes anger.

Sakura learned all of his hiding spots, and how to get inside his guard, and that lightning jutsu just wasn't for her.

Kakashi learned he would never understand her ( _or any teenage girl_ ), and that he shouldn't try. ( _After getting over his trauma at her mood swings, he learned it was quite fun to piss her off._ )

Surprisingly, she took to blades. Perhaps not so surprisingly, fire was her element.

It was inevitable she'd get assigned to a higher ranked mission with him.

...

He had everything under control. Two nin for him to deal with, one for Sakura to battle. Considering they were taken by surprise, everything was going quite well. Sakura was handling herself, and it would only be minutes until he disabled his own opponents.

But then there were more ninja, and he lost sight of her, and then she was screaming for him and Kakashi was like a man possessed.

One, two, three, four out of the way, and then everything was a blur as he dashed through the trees, following his nose ( _jasmine and blood_ ). And then he saw her and the enemy nin, and he reached for a kunai, but it was too late. The nin was mid-air, a split second from impact…

… his heart stopped …

… and then time sped up, the nin landed, and Sakura cried out.

"Get him off, get him off,  _get him off_!" She was pushing, and Kakashi was pulling, and then the body was gone and there was blood everywhere ( _a stained kunai in her hand_ ).

"I killed him," she said, and her eyes were too wide, breathing too fast. "There's blood on my hands, and I killed him, and…" she looked up at him, eyes glassy. "… I tried not to, but he wouldn't stay down, and then.. and then.." and then she started to cry.

It was her first kill.

Kakashi reached out, pulled her into the frame of his body. Given the permission, slim arms went around his waist and were too tight, but just right. ( _Kakashi had also learned that a touch went a long way. For both of them._ )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _This one was actually two ideas smashed into one 500 word piece. I was sadful to have to cut it back so much._
> 
> _It's also a continuation of yesterday's drabble (which is now a tiny miniseries called "Choices, Chances, Changes"). Kakashi's a jaded prodigy in his mid-twenties who's been through a war, the deaths of his best friends and mentor, and made it through an extended period of service to ANBU. Sakura is a thirteen-year-old girl who hasn't shown any real promise as a ninja, but is absolutely determined - and who is also going through puberty and is having all of the Epic Feels. The clash is amusing... also, dichotomous enough to prod each other into personal growth._


	30. the chance to be human (Time Travel Shenanigans, Part XX)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** "Human" - Ellie Goulding  
>  **Title:** the chance to be human - 505 words  
>  **Series:** Time Travel Shenanigans, Part XX

Itachi knows many things.

He knows every clan jutsu ( _even though he doesn't have enough chakra to do them all yet_ ). He knows the stages of the Sharingan, and what must happen to reach the greatest heights of his kekki genkai. He knows the clan will accept nothing less. ( _He knows it's not his place to have an opinion on the matter._ )

Itachi knows his clan is angry, and he knows outsiders see straight faces and stoicism. ( _He sees banked flames and ready embers._ ) He knows Konoha's council watches with a wary eye. He knows the Hokage hopes.

He knows what being the heir means: He is his father's to mold and his mother's to care for from afar. He is not his own, he is the clan's.

He knows Shisui is different. ( _Itachi would die for Shisui._ )

He knows that outside the clan, the council, and his teachers, no one else speaks to, or approaches him.

Except for Sakura.

Sakura makes Itachi feel like he knows very little, and that he doesn't know anything truly important.

With Sakura, he learns.

He learns training can be fun, kunai can be used for carving faces into gourds, and belonging to someone is more than birthright and bloodline. He learns he likes hugs ( _even if he hasn't learned how to give them_ ), and that pink is one of his favorite colors. He learns to have a friend you have to be one.

( _He knows his clan can't know all the things he learns._ )

Itachi learns to be a friend, is to be a guardian. Sakura says friends should watch over each other. Itachi does this. ( _Literally._ )

He is perfectly still in the tree canopy and black eyes follow her as she skips beside the one his clan calls 'thief'. ( _But he is Sakura's, and Sakura is Itachi's, and so the last Hatake is 'mine' and not 'other'_.) When the older nin is in the village, they regularly walk this path from her home to his.

He sees her smiles, and bright eyes, the animation in her face as she talks. He observes the way their strides even out until they match step for step. He sees how the last Hatake's shoulders relax, and the way Sakura seems to have an extra sense about when that moment occurs, because she's there, grasping his hand with two of her — and he lets her. ( _Itachi has learned he likes touch when it's for friend reasons and not nin reasons. He thinks Kakashi has learned this too._ )

The most important thing Itachi has learned is Sakura is special. She doesn't have a family, or bloodline, but she is a better make than anyone he has encountered.

Itachi knows things, but he's learned better.

He watches until they disappear around the last bend that will take them to their destination. ( _Guarding, protecting, watching over._ ) Because that is what friends do. ( _That's what Itachi's do._ )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Itachi's view of things in Time Travel 'verse. Organized, linear thoughts (not bad for a six-year-old), and a special kind of logic._
> 
> _I haven't thought much on what Itachi and Kakashi think of each other... I found myself genuinely intrigued how Itachi assimilated Kakashi into his world ("mine"). That "you're mine, so what's yours is mine" way of looking at Sakura and her precious person. Oddly enough, it feels true to his character._
> 
> _In other news, this is the last day of the Last Fan Standing challenge over at kakasaku on Dreamwidth. And I've won! Thirty straight days of drabbles. Woots!_


	31. the more boys i meet (Time Travel Shenanigans, Part XXI)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt:** None! This is a bonus vignette written just for you ;D  
>  **Title:** the more boys i meet  
>  **Series:** Time Travel Shenanigans, Part XXI

Kakashi felt her chakra moments before he picked up her scent on the light spring breeze ( _jasmine_ ), and then her voice tinkled to his ears. If she was this far on the outskirts of the village, then Sakura must be on her way to his house. And she obviously had someone with her. Unless she’d started talking to herself. ( _Kakashi wouldn’t be surprised if she was._ )

It was easy to make a slight detour and slip over the peak of the roof instead of leaping to the next one. The nearby walking path came into view and moments later his efforts were rewarded when the pink terrorist came around the corner, a boy near her size being tugged along with her. Well. Maybe not tugged. They were holding hands. Kakashi’s brow furrowed.

…

“… and he got home last night, and he had to go see the Hokage today, and he should be back now,” Sakura chattered at Itachi as she pulled him through the village with her. Today was a very good day. Minato oji-san was home ( _and safe, and alive_ ), and Kakashi-kun was home ( _and safe, and alive_ ). “And after we see him, then we can go visit Kushina ‘cause she’ll—”

Her words were cut off when a person dropped in front of them close enough to make her hair _whoosh_ , and Sakura shifted into a defensive stance. She felt Itachi do the same. When her eyes finally landed on their sudden visitor, though, her body relaxed and lips turned up into a bright smile. “Hiya, Kakashi-kun! We were just coming to visit you.”

The older boy crossed his arms and his eyes were hard. His gaze shifted to the person on her left, and then back to her again, and a single brow rose.

“Oh! This is Itachi-kun, and he’s my best friend at school,” she answered his non-verbal question. “Itachi-kun, this is Kakashi-kun.” 

The six-year-old bowed slightly, all formality. “Hatake-san. It is an honor to meet Sakura’s precious person.”

She could tell her Kakashi-kun _wanted_ to frown, but the features that were visible shifted to something more neutral and the edge of menace tinting the air disappeared. 

“Uchiha,” he acknowledged with a nod.

Sakura eyed them, unimpressed. Formality was stupid. She supposed she shouldn’t have expected any better. Kakashi was grumpy and surly a lot of the time, and Itachi was quiet and aloof. 

Before either could react she grabbed a boy in each hand and started tugging them back toward the village center. Itachi didn’t resist at all, but Kakashi refused to budge.

She let go of the older boy, but looked back at him in exasperation. “Ramen.”

“… Ramen?” Kakash eyed her doubtfully.

She didn’t really know _why_ ramen, specifically, just that it felt like the right thing to do to build friend bonds. “You haven’t eaten yet, and we haven’t eaten yet, and we could go get Minato oji-san and Kushina-chan, too.”

Grey eyes slipped past her to Itachi again, and then back to her. 

Sakura frowned at him and tightened her grip on the younger boy. Itachi stayed. 

Kakashi glowered right back, and for a moment Sakura wasn’t sure he’d give in, but then he huffed and all but rolled his eyes at her. “Hn.”

Sakura grinned brightly at him.

For his part, Kakashi stuffed his hands in his pockets and slouched a bit as if very put upon, and Sakura slipped her hand into the crook of his arm to make sure he actually came along.

And then started chattering at her audience again.

“… and then maybe after ramen Kushina-chan will make her special dango, and then we could …”

“No.”

“Aww! Kakashi-kun! You don’t even know what I was going to say yet!”

“No.”

“But Kakaaaaasssshiiiiiiiiiii.”

…

Most people spoke around and over Itachi, and most times it felt like they could care less if he was there at all. If he was acknowledged it was as the Uchiha heir. 

But Sakura’s hand was warm and her grip was firm, and she wanted him with her. The prickly threat of her Kakashi-kun’s chakra, initially aimed at him, had ebbed past to serve as a warning to those outside Sakura and himself. No one ever watched over Itachi like that. ( _Because if he couldn’t watch after himself properly, then he wasn’t worthy of being the heir. If he died, then it was best his weakness was no longer tainting the clan._ )

He didn’t need Sakura to hold his hand, or for Kakashi to keep watch even though he was pretending he didn’t care about anything at all. But he liked it. It made him feel warm inside.

Itachi smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Bonus vignette! Because there’s 31 days in January… and also because I wanted to talk about where all this is going and I thought y’all should have some fic to go along with my author’s notes. (Though, to be honest, I’m not thrilled with this piece. My brain hurts today, and the creativities were not coming easily.)_
> 
> _The short of it, is that I didn't mean to write most of the month's drabbles in the same world, thus creating a somewhat cohesive story concept along the way. The plan has always been to mark this story "Complete" at the end of the challenge, and I am still going to do that. For all intents and purposes, this drabble collection is done. But!! I don't think I'm done with the Time Travel ‘verse yet._
> 
> _So, here’s the deal… (1) Even though this story will be marked “Complete,” there is a possibility a TTS drabble or two may be added in the future. And (2) I've decided to try my hand at turning the TTS concept into a longer, multi-chaptered fic. That's going to take some time. If I actually manage to get something together, I’ll drop a fic cookie and announcement note in a new chapter on this story — that way anyone following “Anything Could Happen” will get an alert with fic and info._
> 
> _So yeah. There you have it. This collection is pretty much done, but I’m going to try and pull some of the time travel concepts together into a separate, more thought out story. Wish me luck?_


End file.
